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"  Researchers from the Imperial College in London have found away to increase the efficiency of solar panel designs by 22 percent\u2014by drawing inspiration from Legos. These researchers&amp;#039; small blocks are not the building blocks of your childhood. Rather, Legos are a visual metaphor of the microscopic aluminum studs that protrude out of the panels. Imperial College scientists use the aluminum cylinder, placed just 100 nanometers apart, to manipulate light, forcing it travel longer distances in the absorbing layer, thus capturing more energy. The small pieces also interlock to form a larger solar panel, which helps with the Lego comparison. In the study, published in Scientific Reports, physics professor and lead author Nicholas Hylton says that aluminum minimizes &amp;quot;parasitic losses,&amp;quot; a problem the crops up with the two popularly used elements, gold and silver. (The problem: While these two elements strongly interact with light, they also absorb majority of the energy before it reaches the solar cells.) Also, aluminum is cheaper than those precious metals, so using it cuts cost.  This technology makes solar panels more viable, flexible and capable of powering appliances and even portable electronics. Who says Legos are just for kids? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a9622/better-solar-panels-inspired-by-legos/>